de Blasio's "Blizzard of the Century" turns out to be, just like the mayor himself, very much a bust

"Historic" blizzard pounds six inches into New York

It was one of the most "historic" blizzard busts in New York City.

74th Roosevelt subway station still closed. Trains running, MTA workers swiping, entering under tape. #BlizzardBust pic.twitter.com/TFfHoQlCns

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 27, 2015

Really, folks, it was just another snow storm. Contrary to the soaring, aspirational rhetoric of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City), who had proclaimed this week's blizzard as "historic," snow fall totals didn't reach anywhere near expected forecasts of 18 to 24 inches. Only 4 to 6 inches of snow fell on New York City, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-New York). Subways service, which had been shut Monday night, resumed Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. with limited availability. A walking tour of Jackson Heights, Queens 35th Avenue, looking east, in Jackson Heights. #Blizzardof2015 pic.twitter.com/TVq4xAl7R2 — Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 27, 2015 37th Avenue, looking west. Jackson Heights. #Blizzardof2015 pic.twitter.com/1iK07rW3kA — Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 27, 2015 74th Street, looking south to Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. #BlizzardBust pic.twitter.com/R63xTRa2Sh — Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 27, 2015 Roosevelt Avenue looking east. The Dunkin Donuts is SRO. pic.twitter.com/vYqrFGgoQD — Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 27, 2015 Blasphemy. Starbucks closed. #deblasiosNewYork #BlizzardBust pic.twitter.com/38f2Hb7mhL — Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 27, 2015

RELATED Blizzard a Bust For NYC as Worst Fears Fail to Materialize (NBC News) Michael Hayes, LMT, has practiced massage for more than 20 years as a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

In Jackson Heights, NYPD arrest and handcuff man, aggravating his injuries

Commissioner Bratton and Mayor de Blasio say we have community policing, but the police can't even speak Spanish to communicate with the community. And when I translated that the man's arm is broken, the cops put him in a impossible situation, and they painted the man as uncooperative. The man has an injured or broken arm ; he's handcuffed, but the cops complained that the man would not stand up. Before I started filming with my iPhone, I witness one police officer putting his foot on the small of the man's back to hold him down.

VIDEO : Fire in Jackson Heights, Queens on 37th Avenue

PUBLISHED : MON, 21 APR 2014, 10:05 PM
UPDATED : TUES, 22 APR 2014, 10:33 AM

VIDEO : A five-alarm fire broke out late Monday afternoon in a large office building at 74-09 37th Avenue, between 74th and 75th Streets in Jackson Heights, Queens. The fire began at about 5:30 p.m., said one witness, who works at the pizza shop across the street from the burning building. There were three minor injuries, NY1 reported.

• RELATED : Firefighters Battle Large Fire in Jackson Heights Building (NBC4 New York)

Jackson Heights residents coming home from work were blocked as they walked up several streets from the major transit hub at Roosevelt Avenue, about one block away from the fire.

At one point and out of caution, firefighters burst through the fourth floor windows of the building next door using the high-pressurized hose water to stop the blaze from spreading.

It took about six hours for firefighters to put out the fire. Witnesses saw three ladder companies hosing down the fire. A fourth ladder company was on the scene, but it was not actively engaged in fighting the fire. It's not known if that fourth ladder company, had it been hosing down the fire, could have extinguished the blaze sooner. Several firefighter engines were on the scene in the blocks around the burning building. The top two floors of the building could be seen as having been destroyed the the fire.

The billowing smoke from the burning building covered several apartment buildings downwind from the fire, blanketing an entire area from 74th Street and 37th Avenue to 76th Street and Northern Blvd., and perhaps beyond.

Medical offices are located in the first floor of the burning building, along with an Italian restaurant. In the upper floors, a small college, Plaza Business Institute, shares space with several businesses, NBC4 New York reported. It is estimated that the whole building is now considered destroyed, effectively putting an end to hundreds of jobs that people had with the businesses, the business college, and law and medical offices in the building.

Fire on 78th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens

There was a fire this morning in an apartment building on 78th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens. Several fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene. It appeared that two ladies were brought out and given oxygen. One was seen being put into an ambulance. The other must have already been taken away. Standing outside along the sidewalk, some residents appeared as if they had just grabbed a coat to put on over their pajamas.

• RELATED : VIDEO : Fire destroys office building on 37th Avenue used by Plaza Business Institute (21 April 2014)

One of the fire trucks deployed a giant ladder that made loud noises as it was secured to the edge of the building's roof. Apartment dwellers across the way from the building could hear the loud sounds made by the ladder company and by rescue sirens. Once rescue was completed, fire officials arrived in SUV's to assess the damage. Once the building was deemed safe, the building's residents were let back in. One resident speculated that it may have been a space heater that started the fire.

If it turns out that that building isn't providing enough heat to its residents, I hope that complaint gets registered with the FDNY.

VIDEO : Broken Lever Voting Machine - Queens 63rd Election District - No Paper Ballots - NYC Primary Election Day

Broken Lever Voting Machine - Queens 63rd Election District - No Paper Ballots http://t.co/m2qMmqBIgP @BOENYC

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) September 10, 2013

VIDEO : Broken Lever Voting Machine - Queens 63rd Election District - No Paper Ballots - NYC Primary Election Day

Voting problems with the single lever voting machine for the 63rd Election District in Jackson Heights, Queens. I was detained by a police officer and nearly taken into custody for using my iPhone to take a photograph and video of the broken voting machine.

We were denied paper ballots, as you will hear on the video. They tried to let us use another voting machine, but then we were taken back to the using the broken 63rd ED lever voting machine after it was "reset."

I'm taking a risk by uploading this video, but I feel it is important to document what happened and to register my vote.

Activists Demand That Christine Quinn De-Fund Stop-And-Frisk

Quinn pressed on NYPD frisk policy

From The New York Post :

Dozens of activists blasted the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program yesterday and called on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to reform it.

“We expect her to share the sensibility that people in this community have when they are being targeted based on the color of their skin and who they are and their identity,” Louis Flores said before a march in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Quinn, a leading Democratic hopeful for mayor next year, has called on Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to reform the controversial practice. She has not yet taken a position on the four bills before the council to curtail it.

The group called on Quinn to cut the NYPD’s budget in order to do away with stop-and-frisk.

Although she negotiates and must approve the city budget every year, she can’t tell Kelly which programs to drop for lack of funds.

Critics decry as racist the practice of cops searching individuals they deem suspicious; Bloomberg and Kelly insist it has led to the city’s dramatic drop in murders.

Jackson Heights Hurricane Sandy Initial Damage Photographs

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Initial Jackson Heights - Hurricane Sandy Damage Photographs

On Tuesday morning, residents of Jackson Heights, Queens, tried to assess the damage to their neighborhood from the rain and wind gusts from Hurricane Sandy. The local Starbucks was closed, and local people looked disoriented and desperate for over-priced coffee.

There were some downed trees.

Nobody knows when the New York City subway system will re-open. Many subway tunnels are flooded from the storm surge.

The seemingly minor damage in some parts of Jackson Heights was met with gratitude by residents. People in other parts of Queens and the rest of New York City were not so fortunate.

Now that Hurricane Sandy has moved on, the recovery efforts will get underway.

Help us to Increase Diversity at Occupy Queens (Jackson Heights)

Help us to increase diversity at Occupy Queens (Jackson Heights).

Join us Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at the QueensPride House.

RSVP on Facebook : Help us to increase diversity at Occupy Queens (Jackson Heights)

O17 Occupy Queens Spanish Flyer

Queens Carwash Employees Vote To Unionize

Employees at Astoria Car Wash and Hi-Tek 10 Minute Lube Inc., a carwash in Queens, overwhelmingly voted to form a union, The New York Times reported. Union organizers said the union vote was the "first major victory in a six-month effort in New York City to unionize workers in an industry the organizers say is rife with labor law violations," in the words of The NYTimes.

VIDEOS : Tornados Hit Queens and Brooklyn in NYC

Videos made by average citizens and posted onto YouTube show the dangerous storm clouds and show one tornado that caused damage on the ground in Queens, New York.

WABC : Tornadoes confirmed in Brooklyn and Queens

2 tornadoes strike in NYC; no injuries reported (Houston Chronicle)

Livery Taxi Cab Driver Plays Chicken With Jackson Heights Pedestrians

JACKSON HEIGHTS, QUEENS : A livery taxi cab driver threatens to back-up on pedestrians, who were standing on 37th Road, near 74th Street, in Jackson Heights, Queens. The driver was playing ''chicken'' with pedestrians (to see whether the pedestrians would step out of his way), and pedestrians were daring the driver to back-up on them (because the pedestrians were not moving (until a woman in a miniskirt distracted their attention).

Crony Queens Community Newspapers

True News From Change NYC : "A Takeover Of Journalism by Lobbyist and Politicians"

Political reporter and blogger Gary Tilzer, the author of the blog True News From Change, published a scathing post about crony journalism in Queens community newspapers that have "not only turn their back on journalism," but have become "partners" with and "house organs" of U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley, who heads the Democratic Party in Queens. Mr. Tilzer refers to Rep. Crowley as "Boss Crowley."

Mr. Tilzer's blog post was in response to an article published by The New York Times that, in turn, drew the conclusion that one of the largest indicators of political machinery in Queens is the Surrogate's Court, the court which decides what to do with the assets of Queens residents, who die intestate. The Surrogate Court also appoints guardians, who profite from the court process to handle the assets of people, who die without wills. Intersecting with the Queens political machine article was a separate NYTimes feature questioning when a blogger becomes a journalist.

Quinn to New York City : Drop Dead

Queens' Peninsula Hospital Center set to close ; New York Downtown Hospital putting patients on stretchers in the hallway to accommodate unmanageable influx of emergency patients.

"Sources say the Far Rockaway, Queens, hospital will shutter after owing millions to vendors and falling behind on its union benefits funds payments; the closure would cost the area about 1,000 jobs," reported Crain's.

The Queens Crap blog published a post today, indicating that Peninsula Hospital Center had filed a 90-day closure plan, a requirement under the law that was violated when St. Vincent's Hospital closed on April 30, 2010.

Is our social safety net not too big to fail ?

Does nobody in City Council have any concern about the financial collapse of so many hospitals across all five New York City boroughs ?

Does Mayor Michael Bloomberg not care, either ?

Meanwhile, following the illegal closing of St. Vincent's Hospital last year, there reamins only one hospital south of 16th Street in Manhattan, New York Downtown Hospital, which The New York Post has reported as being ''overwhelmed,'' and is leading to an ''emergency-care crisis,'' the newspaper reports.

Geraldine Ferraro, Dies at 75 from Blood Cancer

Geraldine A. Ferraro, First Woman on Major Party Ticket, Dies at 75

NYTimes : Geraldine A. Ferraro, a former Conggresswoman from Queens, New York, who was nominated in 1984 to be the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate, was the first woman nominated for national office by a major political party. She died Saturday in from complications from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Flashback : Watch an excerpt of Geraldine Ferraro's 1984 Vice Presidential Acceptance Speech :

St. Pat's For All 2011 Parade - Remembering Robert Rygor

St. Pat's For All 2011 Parade - Remembering Robert Rygor

Robert Rygor was a gay man from New York City. He dedicated his life for LGBT equality, dignity, and pride. He was also a tireless advocate of safe sex, and, as a member of ACT-UP, he was an advocate on behalf of AIDS patients. Beginning in 1978, Robert also fought for LGBT inclusion in the St. Patrick's Day Parade that makes it way down Fifth Avenue.

In this video, I spoke with Brendan Fay following the St. Pat's For All 2011 parade in Woodside, Queens. Mr. Fay shared some memories of Mr. Rygor.

Queens Hospital Closings

Last-minute deal saves Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. But with more hospitals at risk of closing in Queens, public healthcare will only get worse.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has found enough state grant money to save Long Island College Hospital, NY1 reported. Because of the deal, 2,500 employees, who work at the Brooklyn hospital, will be able to keep their jobs.

In the time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of the New York City Council, at least eight city hospitals have closed :

• North General Hospital in Harlem declared bankruptcy in 2010 ;
• St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village was shut down in 2010 after shady backroom meetings ;
• St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst went bankrupt in 2009 ;
• Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica went bankrupt in 2009 ;
• Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills decided to close in 2008 ;
• Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan closed in 2008 ;
• Victory Memorial Hospital in Bay Ridge closed in 2008 ; and
• St. Vincent's Midtown in Manhattan closed in 2007.

Last October, New York magazine published an exposé written by Mark Levine, which described the dangerous public health issues resulting from all the hospital closings.

"Last year, a pair of hospitals in Queens closed suddenly, just before the outbreak of H1N1, causing overflow conditions in the emergency rooms of nearby facilities, one of which set up a triage area on a loading dock."

In January, The New York Post has made a list of more Queens hospitals, which are in danger of closing, if New York State government makes major cuts in Medicaid funding :

• Jamaica
• Peninsula

For more information, see : Governor's Medicaid cuts may kill 10 city hospitals.

Danny Dromm's Reaction To Lack Of NYC Snow Removal Plan

City Councilman Daniel Dromm, standing in front of his office on unplowed 75th Street (in front of stuck cab) in Jackson Heights.

From 1010 WINS Radio: By Juliet Papa

City Councilman Daniel Dromm shook his head and came short of stamping his feet on two feet of unplowed snow on 75th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens.

“The fact that there has been no plow in this neighborhood at all is a disaster,” Dromm said. “It’s hard to understand why the city was so unprepared for this storm because we knew for a long time that it was coming.”

“This is going on day three and usually what we see is a plow coming down the street on the day when the storm starts, then you see something coming the day after and basically the third day you expect it to be clear but that’s not what happened here,” he added.

Many are putting the blame on Bloomberg. “He is not doing what he is supposed to do,” one woman said. ”He’s not running the city, we’re wondering what is happening.”

“I think the Mayor must be living in another world if he thinks that the response to this has been satisfactory,” Dromm said.

Click here to hear Danny on Juliet Papa's report on 1010 WINS.

Please feel free to contact Council Member Dromm's Community Office at: 718-803-6373 if you need any assistance.

Snowpocalypse NYC Mayor Bloomberg

#Snowpocalypse #SnowRemoval

Nobody is answering at 311, and the streets of Queens are not being cleaned. There is no snow removal following the December 2010 Blizzard.

Dave Hogarty said, ''His congestion pricing plan thwarted, Mayor Bloomberg moves on to Plan B to discourage car use in NYC.''